PIHRA Scope - January/February 2008 - (Page 14) The Change(d) Role of Leaders Innovation happens in the meeting place of our experience and all the undiscovered possibilities. Finding that meeting place and making decisions from there necessitates expanding our focus and going deeper. Making decisions from that place and engaging others in that place opens the door to something innovative and creative occurring. The challenge for leaders who want to lead change and not react to change is to enable that ‘evolution.’ Leaders need to foster thinking and dialogue that expand the focus from what we want (results) to how might we change how we go about getting that result (process) and ultimately to who we will need to be (source) to get the job done. Successful leaders see the desired results and they have the awareness and will to open the process up to possible change and adaptation in order to achieve the desired results. They are willing, on a personal, team, and organizational level to encourage the self-scrutiny that addresses who we might need to be in order to make it all happen. Andrew Elder is managing director of enterprise and advanced technologies for emerging markets at Cisco. Every day he lives and works in a fast-paced, flat world where delivering results is job one. Andrew puts it like this: “It’s all about ‘hitting the number’; and, whilst that may be our ultimate goal, we realize that unless we are open to changing the way we approach our business, we could very well find ourselves in a ‘we can’t get By Greg Giuliano, Ph.D. LEADING CHANGE are two realities that frame a current conversation about leadership: change and organizational effectiveness. First (according to Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat), the world is growing flatter every day. The global economic playing field is leveling off and the world works at a faster and faster speed with each passing day. A shift is under way from the old economy dominated by the command and control structures to a new paradigm of business characterized by collaboration and connection, and on a scale never before imagined! A second reality is that in this new world as in the old, some will lead and most will follow. Leadership is fundamental to success in any world. Howard Gardner (from Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership) defines a leader as “an individual who significantly affects the thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors of a significant number of individuals.” In even simpler terms, leadership is about influencing others to deliver the desired results. The most desired result for any company is ongoing, positive organizational transformation. Are we growing? Are we becoming more valuable? Those two questions are routinely asked by leaders of successful organizations. As we continue the transition into Friedman’s flat world, the skill set we’ll utilize and the mindset required to lead effectively and successfully — to deliver the desired results — change dramatically. There there from here’ type of situation. So we continue to change our processes and structures to allow us to capitalize on the opportunities before us. That requires real discipline and adjustments for each of us as individual leaders in the organisation. We need to evolve who we are in order to do what we need to do to get what we want. It’s that simple.” TWO PATHS, ONE JOURNEY Leaders will need to move down two paths to make this happen. These two paths, traveled simultaneously and with intention, lead to not just an increase of knowledge and skill but a shift in behavior and attitude. In a global business environment characterized by collaboration and connection, the way a leader “is” will be of far greater importance and value than what a leader “does.” Simply put, the question, “Who must a leader be?” now supersedes “What must a leader do?” The first path enhances our ability to ‘do’ the work of leadership. What must a leader do? Leaders are responsible for creating the conditions for success for themselves, their teams, and the organization. If asked to list everything necessary to lead a successful company, everything listed would fall into one of three categories. First, a leader must provide clarity; imparting clear information to all stakeholders and ensuring that what was communicated is understood. A WIDER FOCUS There is a paradox at work here. In order to get the results we desire, we need to not focus on the results — at first anyway. It is not enough to focus on results. Such a narrow focus leaves little room for innovation and creativity to play a role in moving the organization forward. A results-only orientation leads to a “Ready, FireAim” culture in which we introduce a prior-andready solution, which is based on our prior experience, to a new challenge or opportunity. 14 PIHRAScope January/February 2008 FEATURE
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